Potted plant display devices

ABSTRACT

A display device for potted plants includes a molded plastic receptacle for the potted plants and an underlying molded plastic tray. The receptacle has a reservoir area for excess water and an internal weir structure with an overflow outlet and passage for conveying excess water to the tray therebelow. The tray has risers adapted to fit into the tapering structure that provides weir and overflow passages. The pots are supported on spaced supports that elevate the pots above the bottom wall of the receptacle and provisions are made to provide uniformly oriented vertically extending capillary passages by means of a structure that cooperates with the molded plastic supports in defining the passages. Various arrangements for providing the capillary passages from molded parts are shown.

[ Feb. 18, 1975 POTTED PLANT DISPLAY DEVICES [75] Inventor: Barnell L.Cobia, Winter Garden,

Fla.

[73] Assignee: Green Island International, Inc.,

Winter Garden, Fla.

[22] Filed: May 25, 1973 [2]] Appl. No.: 364,007

[52] US. Cl. 47/38.l {51] Int. Cl AOIg 27/00 [58] Field of Search 47/38,38.1, 1.2, 34

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 665,502 l/l90l Boggs 47/38.11,623,720 4/1927 Ellis 47/38 3,676,953 7/1972 Delognc 47/38.l

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 699,880 12/1940 Germany 1,168,48512/1958 France 603,978 10/1934 Germany Primary Examiner-Robert E.Bagwill Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Roger L. Martin, Esq.

57 ABSTRACT A display device for potted plants includes a molded plasticreceptacle for the potted plants and an under lying molded plastic tray.The receptacle has a reservoir area for excess water and an internalweir structure with an overflow outlet and passage for conveying excesswater to the tray therebelow. The tray has risers adapted to fit intothe tapering structure that provides weir and overflow passages. Thepots are supported on spaced supports that elevate the pots above thebottom wall of the receptacle and provisions are made to provideuniformly oriented vertically extending capillary passages by means of astructure that cooperates with the molded plastic supports in definingthe passages. Various arrangements for providing the capillary passagesfrom molded parts are shown.

17 Claims, 19 Drawing Figures PATENIEBF 3.866351 snm'aurs 1 POTTED PLANTDISPLAY DEVICES This invention relates to display devices for pottedplants and more particularly to display devices that are made of moldedplastic materials.

Live plants which are commonly found in the marketplace and which aresuitable for the indoor growth by the purchaser are usually marketed ingrowing pots that are either made of porous material such as clay or ofmolded synthetic plastic materials such as polystyrene and polypropyleneto mention but a few of the synthetic materials commonly used for suchpurposes. Both types of growing pots lack the decorative features whichare considered compatible with the decor of many retail display andhousehold living areas. Hence the use of displaydevices that tend toobscure the growing pots from view has become common practice. Suchdisplay devices, sometimes called planters and jardinieres," usuallyhave a receptacle which is adapted to receive and support the pottedplant and which has side walls that tend to hide the growing pot fromview and thus present a more decorative surrounding for the pottedplant.

The growing pots used for containing the soil have a drainage openingthat is usually found in the bottom wall of the pot and the receptaclefor the growing pot serves the added function of providing a reservoirarea for excess water that is used in watering the plants. Thereceptacles of the more conventional display devices make no provisionsfor supporting the growing pot above the bottom wall of the receptacle.Because of this, one frequently encounters an accumulation of excesswater in the receptacle and which basically sets up a water table thatencompasses the root system of the plant in the growing pot. This leadsto root deterioration and frequently to the ultimate demise of thegrowing plant.

Various prior art suggestions have been made with the thought in mind ofproviding a display device which would avoid setting up a water table inthe soil of the growing pot and simultaneously incorporate selfwateringfeatures. All of these prior art suggestions provide some type of meansfor supporting the growing pots spacedly above the bottom wall of thereceptacle so that the water collects in the intervening reservoir areawithout setting up a water table in which the plant roots are immerged.To provide a self-watering feature, the prior art has suggested the useof absorbent materials and wicks as a means for drawing the water fromthe reservoir area to the bottom of the supported growing pot but theuse of wicks and absorbent materials that provide the desired capillaryaction have not foundplay devices the prior art trend has been toprovide special structural features which enable the wick or absorbentmaterial to project through the drainage openings in the bottom wall ofthe plastic growing pot so as to provide a direct delivery of the waterto the soil. Such is unnecessary of course with the porous clay-typegrowing pots since such pots readily absorb water through physicalcontact with the absorbent materials wide acceptance in the marketplace.It has been found that the humus and other potting materials has atendency to become entangled with the fibers of the absorbent materialsand wicks so that it is difficult to clean the display receptacle.Additionally, much of the potand in turn distribute the water to thecontained potting material.

A general object of the invention is to provide improved display devicesfor potted plants. One particular object of the invention is to providea display device that incorporates self-watering features and which canbe readily cleaned to remove humus and other soil particles that becomedislodged from the growing pots. Yet another object is to provide adisplay device for potted plants which embodies features that avoidprolonged and unnecessary immersion of the plant roots in the growingpot due to over watering. Yet another object of the invention is toprovide a self-watering display device for potted plants which may bemade from molded plastic materials. Another object is to embody in apotted plant display device a reservoir overflow arrangement so thatexcess water in the reservoir can flow to a separate receptacle orunderlying tray without carrying particles of soil or dirt onto thevisible side wall areas of the growing pot receptacle. Still a furtherobject is to provide such a device which is inexpensive to manufactureand readily assembled by the user.

The display device in accord with the invention has a molded plasticreceptacle in which the plant pot is housed and forms a water reservoirarea that overlies the bottom wall of the receptacle. The plant pot issupported spacedly above the bottom wall on a molded plastic structureand means which includes this molded plastic structure is located in thereservoir to provide a plurality of uniformly oriented verticallyextending capillary passages that terminate at the upper surface of theplastic structure on which the plant pot is supported. The support forthe plant pot may be integrally molded with the bottom wall structure ofthe receptacle or be provided as a separately molded component andcertain aspects of the invention, as will be subsequently seen, have todo with the provision of a separate component that cooperates with thesupport in forming the capillary passages. Other aspects of theinvention however rely on the structure of the support to provide thecapillary passages.

Other aspects of the invention contemplate a display device which isequipped with an underlying tray for the plant pot receptacle and thereceptacle is equipped with an overflow passage that enables excesswater to be conveyed to the underlying tray. The overflow passage islocated in the reservoir area and confined between the peripheral wallsof the receptacle for the plant pot. This is accomplished by providingan internal weir structure that is integrally molded with the bottomwall of the plastic structure and which terminates at its upper end inthe overflow outlet. The walls of the weir structure are inclined tofacilitate molding procedures and the arrangement provides a taperingpassage for conveying overflow water from the reservoir to theunderlying tray and facilitates the use of molded protuberances in thetray structure to fit in the passageway in a manner such as to form africtional locking arrangement between the receptacle and underlyingtray.

The novel features which are believed to becharacteristic of thisinvention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its organization and method ofoperation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, maybest be understood by reference to the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a display device embodying theprinciples of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device seen in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the lines 3-3of FIG. 2 and shows in broken lines a conventional growing pot asreceived in one of the compartments of the display device;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the display device seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the underlying tray structure shown in FIGS. 1through 4 inclusive;

FIG. 6 is a transverse elevational sectional view through the tray asseen along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view through the tray as seen alongthe lines 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of one of the growing pots supportstogether with adjacent structure that cooperates in forming thecapillary passageways, the view being generally seen along the lines 8-8of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is an elevational sectional view as taken along the lines 99 ofFIG. 8, with a fragment of a growing pot resting on the support beingdepicted in broken lines; 1

FIG. 10 is a plan view similar to that shown in FIG. 8 but shows amodified arrangement for providing the potted plant support andcapillary passageways;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken generally along the lines 11-11 of themodified arrangement shown in FIG. 10, with a fragment of a growing potresting on the support being depicted in broken lines;

FIG. 12 is a plan view similar to that shown in FIG. 8 and whichillustrates yet another modified arrangement for providing a pottedplant support and capillary passageways;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the lines 13-13 of the modifiedarrangement shown in FIG. 12, with a fragment ofa growing pot resting onthe support being depicted in broken lines;

FIG. 14 is a plan view similar to that shown in FIG. 8 and which showsyet another modified arrangement for providing a potted plant supportand capillary passageways;

FIG. 15 is 'a sectional view taken generally along the lines 15-15 ofthe modified arrangement shown in FIG. 14, with a fragment of a growingpot resting on the support being depicted in broken lines;

FIG. 16 is a plan view similar to that shown in FIG. 8 and shows yetanother modified arrangement for providing the potted plant support andcapillary passageways;

FIG. 17 is a view taken generally along the lines 17-17 of the modifiedarrangement shown in FIG. 16,

- with a fragment of a growing pot resting on the support being depictedin broken lines;

FIG. 18 is a plan view similar to that shown in FIG. 8 and shows stillanother modified arrangement for providing a potted plant support andcapillary passageways;

FIG. 19 is a side elevational view of the modified arrangement seen inFIG. 18 with certain parts broken away, the view also depicting inbroken lines a growing pot resting on the support.

Reference is first made to the embodiment of the invention shown inFIGS. 1 through 9 inclusive and wherein the potted plant display deviceis generally depicted at 10. The device includes a molded plasticreceptacle 11 and a molded plastic tray 12 that underlies the receptacleII in the assembled device 10. The molded plastic receptacle 11 isadapted to house a growing pot 16 for a potted plant and has a waterreservoir area 20 that overlies the horizontally oriented bottom wall 15of the receptacle. The receptacle is equipped with overflow outlets aswill be subsequently seen and the underlying tray structure is adaptedto receive the overflow water from the reservoir area.

The receptacle 11 in the embodiment illustrated is designed to receivethree potted plants for display purposes but it will be apparent thattheprinciples of the invention may be embodied in display devices thatare designed to house one or more plant pots. Receptacle 11 has spacedapart opposite side walls 13 and spaced apart opposite end walls 14.These walls are integrally joined together and to the horizontal bottomwall 15 in the molding process by which they are formed. Walls 13 and14, as in conventional display devices of the nature contemplated, risesufficiently high enough to generally obscure the growing pot 16 fromview, as is generally evident in FIG. 3.

Receptacle 11 has a pair of weirs 17 that are spaced apart and moldedintegral with the bottom wall structure 15 and located in the spacebetween the peripheral walls 13 and 14 of receptacle 11. Each of theweirs rises above wall 15 and defines a narrow transversely extendingoverflow outlet 18 from the reservoir area 20. In the embodimentillustrated, the receptacle 11 is equipped with two weirs 17 that arepositioned to divide the receptacle 11 into three compartments that aregenerally designated at 19. These weirs 17 are offset from both the sidewalls 13 and end walls 14 of the receptacle 11 as seen in FIG. 3 andeach is hollow to provide a passage 26 that communicates with theoverflow outlet in the weir structure so as to receive and deliver theoverflow water from the reservoir area to the underlying tray 12.

The tray 12 has spaced apart opposite side walls 21 and spaced apartopposite end walls 22 and these walls 21 and 22 are integrally joined tothe bottom wall structure 23 in the process of molding the tray asgenerally seen in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. The bottom wall 23 is equipped withexteriorly located longitudinally extending narrow side shoes 24adjacent the end walls 22 in the molded structure and these shoes restupon the supporting surface for the display device 10. The bottom wall23 of the tray 12 has a pair of transversely spaced and hollow truncatedconical risers (designated at 25) that are associated with each of theweirs 17 in the structure of the receptacle. Each pair of risers 25 isadapted to fit in the tapering passage 26 of the overlying weirstructure 17 of the assembled display device 10 and frictionally engagethe weir structure in the discharge opening 27 of the passage so as toprovide a locking arrangement that maintains the tray and receptacle inthe assembled condition. The risers or protuberances 25 from wall 23 areof course spaced apart to avoid fully obstructing the discharge opening27 of passage 26. As best seen in FIG. 3, the opposite side walls 28 ofthe weirs converge together as they rise to the overflow outlet 18 andthe opposite end walls 29 of the weirs 17 conform to the contour of thetruncated risers 25. This provides an arrangement where the passage 26tapers from the discharge opening 27 to the overflow outlet thereaboveand enables a pair of risers or protuberances 25 to snuggly fit in andfrictionally engage the weir structure in the discharge opening 27.

Like the weir structure 17, the risers 25 are hollow and at the bottomof each pair of risers 25 the tray 12 is provided with an oblong shoe 31that rests upon the supporting surface for the tray in a manner similarto shoes 24.

Each compartment 19 is equipped in the illustrated embodiment with foursubstantially rigid plastic support components 35 that are spaced apartand molded integral in the bottom wall to provide a means for supportingthe growing pot of a potted plant housed in the compartment spacedlyabove the bottom wall structure 15.

The conventional molded plastic growing pots l6 normally have fourdrainage openings and the supports are spaced apart to adequately carryout their intended function in the areas of these openings. Otherarrangements may, of course, be used.

Each of these support components 35 are adapted and so-equipped with aremovable open ended hollow sleeve component 36 as to provide aplurality of uniformly oriented and vertically extending parallelcapillary passages 37, the walls defining the passages which bycapillary action draw water from the bottom wall of the receptacleupwardly to the bottom wall 38 (see FIG. 9) of the growing pot 39 housedin the compartment. The plastic growing pots commonly used, as thoseskilled in the art are well aware, are equipped with one or moredrainage openings in the bottom wall such as that depicted at 40 in FIG.9 and the growing pot supporting structures 35 are spaced apart in thebottom wall structure of the receptacle so as to provide an uppersurface 41 that is arranged to contact the bottom wall 38 of the pot 39in the approximate area of at least one of the drainage openings 40 sothat one or more of the capillary passages provided at the supportingsurfaces will be aligned with the drainage opening and hence be in theposition to deliver water to the potting material contained in the potand which normally projects through the drainage openings sufficientlyfar enough to make contact with the capillary openings at the supportingsurface of the supports and thus capable of absorbing the waterdelivered by the capillaries. The need for providing special structureto provide capillaries that extend through the drainage openings hasbeen found unnecessary.

As best seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the supports 35 have a generallycylindrical contour in the embodiment illustrated and wherein thevertically oriented peripheral wall 42 is equipped with a plurality oflaterally spaced arcuate channels which extend vertically between thebottom wall 15 of the receptacle and the upper surface 41 of thesupport. The sleeve on the other hand is equipped with a cylindricalinner wall 43 and in the assembled capillary structure snuggly fits onthe support in a coaxial arrangement so that the inner wall 43frictionally engages the peripheral wall 42 between the channels 44. Thewalls 43 and 44 accordingly define the capillary passages 37 in theassembly. The sleeves are preferably substantially rigid and made frommolded plastic material so as to be readily removed from the supportsfor purposes of cleaning out clogged passages and to facilitate a properorientation of the sleeve on the support structure which will provide aninlet opening 45 adjacent the bottom wall 15 for each capillary and anoutlet opening 46 that is located at the perimeter of the upper surface41. The bottom wall 15 is equipped with three spacer elements 47 thatare integrally molded in the bottom wall in a circumferentially spacedarrangement with respect to the axes of the sleeve and support so as toprovide stops that are located below and contacted by the sleeve when itis inserted on the support. These stops also serve to maintain anentranceway for the water in the reservoir to pass between the lower endof the sleeve and the bottom wall to the inlet openings 45 of thecapillaries.

As best seen in FIGS. 1 through 3 inclusive, the opposite end walls 14of the receptacle are provided with inclined channels 49 that serve asinlet spouts for receiving water that is poured into the reservoir. Inthe normal use of the display device the reservoir is filled by pouringwater down the channels until such time as the water overflows the weirsl7 and passes via the overflow outlets l8 and passageways 26 into thetray structure 12. This overflow water of course can be readily observedby the plant caretaker and of course indicates that an adequate amountof water has been added to the receptacle. When the soil in the growingpots is dry at the time the reservoir is filled, there is a time lagbetween the time of overflow through the overflow outlets 18 and thetime the water is absorbed in the soil to the point that there issurface moisture at the top of the growing pot. During this time lag,the level of the water in the reservoir will recede to the point atwhich there is practically no water table in the growing pot and in someinstances to the point at which the level of the water in the reservoiris well below the upper surfaces 41 of the support components.Thereafter as the water evaporates from the soil and is dissipatedthrough the plant structure, water is continuously fed to the growingpots through the capillary passages and which are designed to have acapillary rise that will provide water at the outlet openings 46 bycapillary action so long as water is available at the inlets 45.

Other cooperating structural arrangements may be used to provide thecapillary passages and reference is now made to a modified embodiment ofthis aspect of the invention shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. In thisembodiment the supports 52 for the growing pot 53 are molded integralwith the bottom wall 15 of the receptacle but the vertically extendingperipheral wall 54 of each support has a cylindrical contour. The innerwall 55 of the hollow open ended sleeve 56 however is provided withparallel and vertically extending arcuate channels 57. Like the priorembodiment, the sleeve 56 is coaxially mounted on the cylindricalsupport 52 and is adapted and arranged so that the peripheral wall 54frictionally engages the inner wall 55 between the laterally spacedchannels 57 and provides in the assembly a plurality of uniformlyoriented and vertically extending capillary passages 58. As in the priorembodiment, wall 15 is provided with spaced stop elements 59 that areintegrally molded with the wall structure and located below the sleeveso that when the sleeve 56 is inserted on the support 52 the lower endof the sleeve engages and contacts the stop 59 while the upper end ofthe sleeve 56 falls inthe plane of the upper surface 60 that is arrangedfor contact with the bottom wall 61 of the supported growing pot 53.

The arrangement depicted in FIGS. 10 and 11 functions in a mannersimilar to that depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9 in that the sleeve 56 andsupport 52 cooperate in forming the vertically extending capillarypassages 58 and provide an arrangement where the inlet openings 62 ofthe passages are located adjacent the bottom wall while the outletopenings 63 of the capillaries are located at the perimeter of the uppersurface 60, so that water transported to the upper surface 60 bycapillary action can pass into contact with potting material (not shown)in the area of the drainage opening 64 of the supported pot 53.

The arrangements depicted in FIGS. 8 through 11 inclusive provide anarrangement where the parts forming the capillaries can be readilymolded and assembled and disassembled by an individual to removeobstructions such as dirt and soil that might otherwise clog up thepassages.

Reference is now made to the arrangements shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 forproviding the support and capillary passages. In this instance eachsupport 70 for the growing pot designated at 67 is provided by a groupof upright molded plastic elements 68 that are integrally molded withthe bottom wall 15 of the receptacle and laterally spaced one from theother in the group in an arrangement such as to provide a plurality ofuniformly oriented and vertically extending capillary passages 69. Thesepassages 69 are defined by the confronting portions of the peripheralwalls 71 of the elements 68 and which are seen in FIG. 13 as extendingfrom the bottom wall 15 to the upper surface 72 that contacts the bottomwall of the pot and is formed by the coplanar arrangement of the upperend extremities 74 of the plas' tic elements 68. The elements are spacedapart in a parallel arrangement between the bottom wall 15 and uppersurface 72 so that as the water recedes in the reservoir the spacebetween the elements in the proximity of the bottom wall 15 can serve asinlet openings 75 for the water which is then transferred by capillaryaction upwardly in the grouped element arrangement to the outletopenings 76 of the passages. The arrangement depicted in FIGS. 12 and 13has the advantage that the need for a sleeve or other cooperatingstructure which must be molded separately in order to form the passagesis unnecessary.

Reference is now made to the modified arrangements shown in FIGS. 14 and15. In this arrangement the molded plastic support 79 are moldedseparately and apart from the structure of the receptacle. The supportshown in the embodiment comprises a molded plastic cylindrical section80 that is equipped with a plurality of uniformly arranged holes 81 thatare spaced apart in a parallel arrangement with the axis of thecylindrical section 80. The holes 81 open at the opposite ends 82 and 83of the cylindrical section 80 and the lower end 83 of section 80 isequipped with a radially extending flange 84 that in turn is providedwith spaced depending legs 85. The flange and legs are molded integralwith section 80 and as seen in FIG. 15, the bottom wall 15 of thereceptacle is provided with a circular recess 86 that serves as a wellfor collection of residual amounts of water as the reservoir is emptied.The surface 87 at the lower end of section 80 faces the bottom wall 17in the arrangement and is spaced apart therefrom by the supporting legsthat rest upon the wall structure. As in the previous embodiments theupper surface 88 of the support contacts the bottom wall 89 of thegrowing pot 90 in the area of the drainage opening 91 so that the pot issupported spacedly above the bottom wall. The holes 81 in thecylindrical section 80 of course provide a plurality of uniformlyoriented and vertically extending capillary passages 92 and are arrangedin the assembly such that the water is admitted at the inlets 93 andpasses up through the section 80 by capillary action to the passageoutlets 94. This embodiment has the advantage that the supports 80 canbe removed from the receptacle to facilitate cleaning.

Reference is now made to the modified arrangement shown in FIGS. 16 and17 and wherein each support component 96 is formed by a plurality offlat, planar, plastic plate-like elements 97 that are molded integralwith the bottom wall 15 in an upright parallel arrangement in which theplates are spaced apart in a face to face arrangement that defines aplurality of vertically extending planar-type capillary passages 98. Theupper edges 99 of the plates provide an upper surface in the supportstructure 96 which contacts the bottom wall 101 of the growing pot 102in the area of the drainage opening 103. The plate-like elements 97 arespaced apart in parallel planes and the arrangement provides an inletopening 104 in the proximity of the bottom wall 15 of the receptaclewhen the water recedes in the reservoir area and which of course is thentransported upwardly between the plates by capillary action to theoutlet openings provided by the plate at the upper surface of thesupporting structure. This arrangement, like the arrangement depicted inFIGS. 12 and 13, has the advantage that both the capillary passages andsupports are formed by one molding process.

Reference is now made to the modified arrangement shown in FIGS. 18 and19. In this arrangement each of the support components 108 are moldedintegral with the bottom wall 15 of the receptacle and are shown in theform of an upright vertically extending cylindrical end element 109 inwhich the vertically oriented peripheral wall 110 is provided with aplurality of laterally spaced vertically extending V-shaped channels111. These channels 111 extend between the upper supporting surface 112for the growing pot 113 and the bottom wall 15 of the receptacle. Theperipheral wall 110 in this instance is surrounded by a flexible sleeve114 that snuggly fits on the support as seen in the drawings. The sleevemay be made of rubber tubing or of suitable plastic materials. Theperipheral wall 110 surrounded by the flexible sleeve 1 14 presents aninner wall surface 115 that frictionally engages the peripheral wall 110between the channels and thus cooperates in providing a plurality ofvertically extending and uniformly oriented capillary passages 116 in amanner similar to that depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9. The lower end oftheflexible sleeve 1 14 in the arrangement depicted is slightly offset fromthe bottom wall 15 so that the water in the reservoir can gain access tothe inlet openings 117 of the passages and thus be transported to theoutlet openings 1 l8 thereabove. The supports are arranged in a mannersimilar to that previously indicated and thus arranged so that the uppersurface 112 contacts the bottom wall 119 of the pot 120 in the areaofthe drainage opening From the previous description it will be apparentthat capillary passages can be obtained for the purposes intended bymolding procedures and have considerable advantage over arrangementsthat use wicks and absorbent materials. Furthermore, by the use ofinternally located weirs, one avoids the collecting of dirt and otherparticles at the exterior of the receptacle.

While only certain preferred embodiments of this invention have beenshown and described by way of illustration, many modifications willoccur to those skilled in the art and it is, therefore, desired that itbe understood that it is intended herein to cover all such modificationsas fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by Letters Pat.of the United States is:

1. In a potted plant display device the improvement comprising a moldedreceptacle of water impervious plastic for housing a plant pot and whichhas a water reservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottomwall, and means in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformlyoriented vertically extending capillary passages, said means including amolded support of water impervious plastic that is supported by andrises above said bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in thereceptacle spacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic supporthaving an upper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of aplant pot supported thereon, and each of said capillary passages havinginlet and outlet openings that are respectively located at saidunderlying bottom wall and said upper surface, said improvement furthercomprising a molded tray of water impervious plastic for containingwater and which underlies said underlying bottom wall, and saidreceptacle having an overflow outlet located over said tray and spacedlyabove said upper surface.

2. The improvement in accord with claim 1 where said underlying bottomwall and said molded support of water impervious plastic are integrallymolded together.

3. The improvement in accord with claim 1 where said molded support ofwater impervious plastic rests on said underlying wall.

4. The improvement in accord with claim 1 where said receptacle hasspaced apart opposite end walls that are molded integrally with saidunderlying bottom wall, where said overflow outlet is located in thespace between said opposite side walls and between said end walls, andwhere said receptacle has a weir structure that rises above saidunderlying bottom wall and defines said overflow outlet.

5. The improvement in accord with claim 4 where said weir structure ismolded integral with said underlying bottom wall and defines a passagethat communicates with said overflow outlet for receiving overflow waterfrom the reservoir and delivering said overflow water to the tray.

6. The improvement in accord with claim 5 where said tray has a bottomwall, where the passage defined by said weir structure has a dischargeopening which is located over the bottom wall of the tray and beneathsaid overflow outlet, where the passage defined by said weir structuretapers from its discharge opening to said overflow outlet, and wheresaid tray has means rising above the bottom wall of the tray andfrictionally engaging the weir structure of the receptacle in thepassage defined thereby.

7. The improvement in accord with'claim 6 where the means rising abovethe bottom wall of the tray comprises spaced protuberances thatfrictionally engage said weir structure in said discharge opening.

8. 'In a potted plant display device the improvement comprising a moldedreceptacle of water impervious plastic for housing a plant pot and whichhas a water reservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottomwall, and means in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformlyoriented vertically extending capillary passages, said means including amolded support of water impervious plastic that is supported by andrises above said bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in thereceptacle spacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic supporthaving an upper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of aplant pot supported thereon, and each of said capillary passages havinginlet and outlet openings that are respectively located at saidunderlying bottom wall and said upper surface, said molded plasticsupport having a vertically oriented peripheral wall that extendsbetween said upper surface and said underlying horizontally orientedbottom wall, and said means defining the capillary passages includingsleeve means frictionally engaging said molded plastic support andhaving an inner wall that surrounds said peripheral wall and therewithdefines said vertically extending capillary passages therebetween.

9. The improvement in accord with claim 8 where said sleeve means is asubstantially rigid molded plastic element.

10. The improvement in accord with claim 9 where said underlying bottomwall has an integrally molded plastic stop element located below and incontact with said sleeve means.

11. The improvement in accord with claim 8 where said peripheral wallhas a plurality of vertically extending channels.

12. The improvement in accord with claim 11 where said channels arearcuate in cross section.

13. The improvement in accord with claim 8 where said inner wall has aplurality of vertically extending channels.

14. The improvement in accord with claim 13 where said channels arearcuate in cross section.

15. In a potted plant display device the improvement comprising a moldedreceptacle of water impervious plastic for housing a plant pot and whichhas a water reservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottomwall, and means in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformlyoriented vertically extending capillary passages, said means including amolded support of water impervious plastic that is supported by andrises above said bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in thereceptacle spacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic supporthaving an upper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of aplant pot supported thereon, and each of said capillary passages havinginlet and outlet openings that are respectively located at saidunderlying bottom wall and said upper surface, said molded plasticsupport comprising a plurality of elongated upright plastic elementsthat are integrally molded with said underlying bottom wall, and saidelements being laterally spaced from one another in a cooperatingarrangement to define said vertically extending capillary passages.

16. In a potted plant display device the improvement comprising a moldedreceptacle of water impervious plastic for housing a plant pot and whichhas a water reservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottomwall, and means in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformlyoriented vertically extending capillary passages, said means including amolded support of water impervious plastic that is supported by andrises above said bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in thereceptacle spacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic supporthaving an upper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of aplant pot supported thereon, and each of said capillary passages havinginlet and outlet openings that are respectively located at saidunderlying bottom wall and said upper surface, said molded plasticsupport comprising a plurality of flat planar plastic plate-likeelements that are spaced apart in parallel and in a face to facecooperating arrangement to define said vertically extending capillarypassages.

17. In a potted plant display device the improvement comprising a moldedreceptacle of water impervious plastic for housing a plant pot and whichhas a water reservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottomwall, and means in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformlyoriented vertically extending capillary passages, said means including amolded support of water impervious plastic that is supported by andrises above said bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in thereceptacle spacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic supporthaving an upper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of aplant pot supported thereon, and each of said capillary passages havinginlet and outlet openings that are respectively located at saidunderlying bottom wall and said upper surface, said molded plasticsupport having a lower surface which faces and is spaced from saidunderlying horizontally oriented bottom wall, said vertically extendingcapillary passages having opposite ends and communicating with theexterior of said molded plastic support at said opposite ends andthrough said upper surface and said lower surface respectively, and saidmolded plastic support having support means resting on said underlyingbottom wall below said lower su rface.

1. In a potted plant display device the improvement comprising a moldedreceptacle of water impervious plastic for housing a plant pot and whichhas a water reservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottomwall, and means in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformlyoriented vertically extending capillary passages, said means including amolded support of water impervious plastic that is supported by andrises above said bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in thereceptacle spacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic supporthaving an upper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of aplant pot supported thereon, and each of said capillary passages havinginlet and outlet openings that are respectively located at saidunderlying bottom wall and said upper surface, said improvement furthercomprising a molded tray of water impervious plastic for containingwater and which underlies said underlying bottom wall, and saidreceptacle having an overflow outlet located over said tray and spacedlyabove said upper surface.
 2. The improvement in accord with claim 1where said underlying bottom wall and said molded support of waterimpervious plastic are integrally molded together.
 3. The improvement inaccord with claim 1 where said molded support of water imperviousplastic rests on said underlying wall.
 4. The improvement in accord withclaim 1 where said receptacle has spaced apart opposite end walls thatare molded integrally with said underlying bottom wall, where saidoverflow outlet is located in the space between said opposite side wallsand between said end walls, and where said receptacle has a weirstructure that rises above said underlying bottom wall and defines saidoverflow outlet.
 5. The improvement in accord with claim 4 where saidweir structure is molded integral with said underlying bottom wall anddefines a passage that communicates with said overflow outlet forreceiving overflow water from the reservoir and delivering said overflowwater to the Tray.
 6. The improvement in accord with claim 5 where saidtray has a bottom wall, where the passage defined by said weir structurehas a discharge opening which is located over the bottom wall of thetray and beneath said overflow outlet, where the passage defined by saidweir structure tapers from its discharge opening to said overflowoutlet, and where said tray has means rising above the bottom wall ofthe tray and frictionally engaging the weir structure of the receptaclein the passage defined thereby.
 7. The improvement in accord with claim6 where the means rising above the bottom wall of the tray comprisesspaced protuberances that frictionally engage said weir structure insaid discharge opening.
 8. In a potted plant display device theimprovement comprising a molded receptacle of water impervious plasticfor housing a plant pot and which has a water reservoir with anunderlying horizontally oriented bottom wall, and means in the reservoirdefining a plurality of uniformly oriented vertically extendingcapillary passages, said means including a molded support of waterimpervious plastic that is supported by and rises above said bottom wallfor supporting a plant pot housed in the receptacle spacedly above saidbottom wall, said molded plastic support having an upper surface that isarranged to contact the bottom wall of a plant pot supported thereon,and each of said capillary passages having inlet and outlet openingsthat are respectively located at said underlying bottom wall and saidupper surface, said molded plastic support having a vertically orientedperipheral wall that extends between said upper surface and saidunderlying horizontally oriented bottom wall, and said means definingthe capillary passages including sleeve means frictionally engaging saidmolded plastic support and having an inner wall that surrounds saidperipheral wall and therewith defines said vertically extendingcapillary passages therebetween.
 9. The improvement in accord with claim8 where said sleeve means is a substantially rigid molded plasticelement.
 10. The improvement in accord with claim 9 where saidunderlying bottom wall has an integrally molded plastic stop elementlocated below and in contact with said sleeve means.
 11. The improvementin accord with claim 8 where said peripheral wall has a plurality ofvertically extending channels.
 12. The improvement in accord with claim11 where said channels are arcuate in cross section.
 13. The improvementin accord with claim 8 where said inner wall has a plurality ofvertically extending channels.
 14. The improvement in accord with claim13 where said channels are arcuate in cross section.
 15. In a pottedplant display device the improvement comprising a molded receptacle ofwater impervious plastic for housing a plant pot and which has a waterreservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottom wall, andmeans in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformly orientedvertically extending capillary passages, said means including a moldedsupport of water impervious plastic that is supported by and rises abovesaid bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in the receptaclespacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic support having anupper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of a plant potsupported thereon, and each of said capillary passages having inlet andoutlet openings that are respectively located at said underlying bottomwall and said upper surface, said molded plastic support comprising aplurality of elongated upright plastic elements that are integrallymolded with said underlying bottom wall, and said elements beinglaterally spaced from one another in a cooperating arrangement to definesaid vertically extending capillary passages.
 16. In a potted plantdisplay device the improvement comprising a molded receptacle of waterimpervious plastic for housing a plant pot and which has a waterreservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottom wall, andmeans in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformly orientedvertically extending capillary passages, said means including a moldedsupport of water impervious plastic that is supported by and rises abovesaid bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in the receptaclespacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic support having anupper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of a plant potsupported thereon, and each of said capillary passages having inlet andoutlet openings that are respectively located at said underlying bottomwall and said upper surface, said molded plastic support comprising aplurality of flat planar plastic plate-like elements that are spacedapart in parallel and in a face to face cooperating arrangement todefine said vertically extending capillary passages.
 17. In a pottedplant display device the improvement comprising a molded receptacle ofwater impervious plastic for housing a plant pot and which has a waterreservoir with an underlying horizontally oriented bottom wall, andmeans in the reservoir defining a plurality of uniformly orientedvertically extending capillary passages, said means including a moldedsupport of water impervious plastic that is supported by and rises abovesaid bottom wall for supporting a plant pot housed in the receptaclespacedly above said bottom wall, said molded plastic support having anupper surface that is arranged to contact the bottom wall of a plant potsupported thereon, and each of said capillary passages having inlet andoutlet openings that are respectively located at said underlying bottomwall and said upper surface, said molded plastic support having a lowersurface which faces and is spaced from said underlying horizontallyoriented bottom wall, said vertically extending capillary passageshaving opposite ends and communicating with the exterior of said moldedplastic support at said opposite ends and through said upper surface andsaid lower surface respectively, and said molded plastic support havingsupport means resting on said underlying bottom wall below said lowersurface.